EDITORIAL: Legal bingo offers major opportunity for tribe, region

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Alabama-Coushatta Indian tribe is no stranger to tough times. In fact, you could say that the tribe has known more than its share of hardship and struggle. At long last, however, the tribe and the region it lives in have a ray of hope. Federal officials have finally allowed the tribe to sponsor legalized bingo games.

That's not the expanded gaming the tribe wants - or offered in 2001 before the feds shut them down. But modern bingo isn't the sleepy pastime your grandmother enjoyed. It's a fast-paced game of chance that can bring in a lot of players - and revenues.

The Alabama-Coushatta want to set up 300 electronic bingo machines at its property off U.S. Highway 190 about 13 miles west of Woodville toward Livingston. If it's done right, the bingo games could bring in hefty profits. They could create 150 badly needed jobs right off the bat.

The 1,200 tribe members need it. Although the tribe controls more than 10,000 acres of land in Tyler and Polk counties, it does not collect property taxes from members who live on the reservation. Other economic opportunities in the area are sparse. The bottom line is that many tribal members live in poverty. Only half live on the reservation because there simply are no jobs for them.

Tribal leaders should make sure to invest any profits wisely. That means forward-looking projects that create more jobs or education for tribal members instead of just spending the money as it comes in. As much as possible, the new money should be invested in non-gaming activities to broaden the tribe's economic base and shelter it from the feast-or-famine syndrome that affects so many one-dimensional enterprises.

This can be a game-changer for the Alabama-Coushatta - and help others too. It's no secret that lots of Texans go to Louisiana and other bordering states for legalized gambling that isn't available here. If some of those profits could stay within our borders, the entire state would benefit.